Overview

• The plan combines a £20bn increase in UK Export Finance capacity with a £5bn fund to help companies navigate complex regulations and expand into new markets.
• Ministers will overhaul the trade remedies system, nationalise British Steel and consider import quotas on cheap foreign steel to shield domestic producers from unfair competition.
• The strategy shifts focus from broad free trade deals to targeted agreements, prioritising mutual recognition of professional qualifications for key service sectors.
• Britain will join the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement to maintain a rules-based World Trade Organization dispute appeal process.
• Business groups including HSBC UK and the British Chambers of Commerce have welcomed the measures as essential for strengthening firms amid rising global trade tensions.